ARRIS and Charter Announce Joint Venture to Acquire ActiveVideo

14 Apr 2015

ARRIS and Charter – with a shared vision – joined forces today to acquire ActiveVideo.

ActiveVideo developed CloudTV™, the only cloud-based software platform that enables service providers, content aggregators, and consumer electronic (CE) manufacturers to rapidly deploy new services – such as next-gen UIs, online content and interactive advertising – by virtualizing CPE functions in the cloud.

A new JV company was created to own ActiveVideo and operates independently of ARRIS and Charter. ARRIS will be the sales channel for ActiveVideo's CloudTV platform. ARRIS's service provider relationships, global scale and installed base of CPE will support the accelerated adoption of CloudTV - giving CloudTV the clout to reach a worldwide customer base.

ARRIS will be the majority owner of ActiveVideo, with a 65% stake in the JV. Charter will participate as a minority owner. Jeff Miller will continue to lead ActiveVideo as CEO. The transaction - which is subject to customary closing conditions - is expected to close within the next 30 days.

Charter and ARRIS came together due to our shared vision for enabling an all-IP network and the software-defined TV experience that will allow our industry to quickly move in response to subscriber trends. For Charter, this represents its commitment to the success of the CloudTV platform and its confidence in CloudTV’s value proposition for customers and consumers around the world. For ARRIS this represents a compelling opportunity to partner with a strategic customer and expansion of our cloud portfolio with CloudTV, a disruptive cloud technology already adopted by Tier 1 customers. Together, we see the opportunity as an ideal way to accelerate the adoption of CloudTV’s innovative platform that enables the delivery of powerful consumer and subscriber experiences….quickly and with lower CapEx.

This is another example of ARRIS’s ongoing legacy of collaboration with customers to Invent the Future.